Evolutionary Adaptations

Question 1

naked mole rat

Answer 1

limited eyesight, strong sense of smell
eusocial
communal living
competition if reproductive females/queen dies

Question 2

eusocial

Answer 2

truly social, family groups with 1 reproductive female
large colonies of very closely related individual

Question 3

evolutionary adaptation

Answer 3

trait favored by natural selection
must be variable among individuals, heritable, increase fitness

Question 4

what determines if a trait is an adaptation?

Answer 4

depends on environment
trait may exist within population but no longer have an advantage in current environment

Question 5

how does sickle cell anemia demonstrate evolutionary adaptation?

Answer 5

higher distribution (of people who survive) in parts of Africa and India
in those areas with more malaria which infects red blood cells, 1 copy of sickle cell gene provides protection
in areas without malaria, sickle cell gene doesn’t have an advantage

Question 6

industrial melanism in biston betularia

Answer 6

when trunks became black from soot, more moths became black
evolutionary adaptation to prevent bird predation due to industrial revolution darkening tree trunks

Question 7

viceroy butterfly

Answer 7

mimics appearance of poisonous monarch butterfly
viceroy also toxic, monarchs benefit from them
evolutionary adaptation because visual characteristics evolved separately but not closely related

Question 8

hover fly

Answer 8

true mimicry of bee, doesn’t have a stinger
similar lifestyle, feed on nectar

Question 9

san jose scale insect

Answer 9

first case of resistance to insecticide

Question 10

tobacco budworm

Answer 10

resistant to DDT

Question 11

resistance in bacterial diseases, eg tuberculosis

Answer 11

pockets of tissue grow around bacteria
drug-resistant strains arise from incomplete treatment, lower success rate of treatment

Question 12

platypus

Answer 12

monotreme: secretes milk through mammary glands/skin, no nipples
lay eggs, only 1 functioning ovary
only mammals to produce true poison, spurs on back legs

Question 13

sexual selection in platypus

Answer 13

females lose spurs at age 1, males keep them

Question 14

coevolution

Answer 14

simultaneous and interactive evolution of two or more species

Question 15

coevolution of myxoma virus in rabbits

Answer 15

introduced to control rabbit population in rabbits
rabbit susceptibility decreased
myxoma virulence decreased, measure by injecting in laboratory rabbits

Question 16

what explains the decrease in rabbit susceptibility to myxoma?

Answer 16

natural selection, develop resistance to virus

Question 17

what explains the decrease in myxoma virulence?

Answer 17

strong selection for the virus to find another host
ideal strain keep rabbit alive long enough for virus to spread

Question 18

why was the old world the ideal environment for measles?

Answer 18

requires high populations where transmission is rapid

Question 19

why was the new world the ideal environment for syphilis?

Answer 19

disease lingers for long time, stay in host for as long as possible